“It’s Monday! What are you reading?” is a weekly meme hosted by Book Date. The folks at Teacher Mentor Texts and Unleashing Readers have given #IMWAYR a new lens by focusing on books for kids & teens. Check out their blogs to see what they’re reading!

I’m sad to report that I didn’t finish any books last week. It was an extremely busy week, since one of the libraries I work at is getting ready to open a brand new building. I’m currently still reading (and loving) Blanca y Roja by Anna-Marie McLemore and I’ve been listening to Dread Nation by Justina Ireland. The audiobook is read by Bahni Turpin, who is a fantastic narrator (she did an incredible job on the The Hate U Give audiobook!).

I’m hoping to get back to my regular reading schedule this week and have a big stack of books waiting for me.

 

WHAT I’M EXCITED TO READ THIS WEEK:

 

Quiver by Julia Watts

A story about an unlikely friendship between two teens from completely different backgrounds: a girl from an evangelical Christian family, and a gender fluid teen from a liberal family.

This sounds like such an important book, and although I haven’t heard too much about it, it does have a few four & five-star reviews on Goodreads. I’m excited for the gender fluid rep, and really curious to see how the author handles the cultural & social differences between the two teens. Unlikely friendships are one of my favorite things to read about and Quiver sounds perfect for me.

 

 

You Don’t Know Everything, Jilly P! by Alex Gino

Jilly realizes she doesn’t know as much as she thought when her baby sister Emma is born deaf. Jilly becomes friends with Derek, who’s a Deaf Black ASL user, and in seeking his advice, she learns how to be a better friend to Derek & a better sister to Emma.

Alex Gino’s second book is definitely one of my most anticipated middle grade reads this year! I’m so so so happy to see an MG book talking about allyship, privilege, and the way people of different backgrounds experience the world differently.

 

 

Fresh Romance, Vol. 1 (multiple authors)

A collection of romance comics of all sorts, with a wide range of genres and including LGBTQIA+ romance.

I picked Fresh Romance up at the library a couple weeks ago and I’m hoping to finally get to it this week. Romance isn’t my favorite genre, but I’ve been reading more of it recently and enjoy it as a break from the darker, sadder books I normally read.

 

 

 

What are you reading this week?